Medical Infrared Thermography of Patients with Temporomandibular Disorders and Masseter Muscle Pain after TENS Stimulation - Case Study

Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a pathology involving the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and muscles of the masticatory system, presenting a clinical diagnosis of orofacial pain. The applicability of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a non-invasive technique that induces analgesia without using drugs. The aim of this research was to evaluate the TENS treatment for patients with TMD and orofacial pain, in the temporal muscle (TM), temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and masseter muscle (MM), through medical infrared thermography in three female patients. The obtained results indicate uniformity of the thermal distribution for the three studied patients after a single session the treatment with TENS. Although the sample is rather limited, the results show a decrease in the temperature asymmetry between the ROIs of the contralateral side in all patients, indicating the success of the treatment. Thus, thermography is clearly a promising complementary method for diagnostic and monitor chronic pain within specific treatment protocols of TENS analgesic therapy in patients with TMD.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the effectiveness of TENS treatment for patients with TMD using medical infrared thermography. The results showed consistent thermal distribution and decreased temperature asymmetry after TENS treatment, indicating its success. Thus, thermography can be a promising complementary method in TENS analgesic therapy for TMD patients.